There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

After being identified, several pirates in the crowd panicked and tried to flee, but were caught and blocked in the middle of the road by the cavalry.

The one-eyed leader glared at the two men, his face grim. "Isufer! Korne! Didn't your squad report that you were killed in battle? How come you're here all of a sudden!"

The two pirates looked flustered and dared not go home, but from my observation, they did have bowlegs from years of riding horses, which was quite different from the others in the pirate crew.

The mad lord glanced at them coldly, then decisively pulled out his pistol and shot them in the head, instantly killing the two traitors of the territory without even giving them a chance to explain.

Then, with a blank expression, he said to the pirate leader, "You just accused me of betrayal? Well, I also have something to settle with you... Wasn't it you who secretly bribed the privateers to plan the incident at Shisong Manor?"

The pirate leader's expression froze.

It's one thing for everyone to be aware of clandestine tactics like sending spies to bribe insiders, but if someone gets caught with the evidence, then morally one has no right to condemn the other person for being unrighteous and unjust.

Moreover, these words sounded particularly jarring coming from the mouth of the mad lord—there was no doubt that he was here to settle scores!

"That's your business. I only took in a few desperate traitors, is that something to be doubted?" the pirate leader continued to try to explain.

The mad lord looked at me.

Although this incident was a contest between the two of them, it also indirectly sparked a conflict between me and the loader's leader. It's fair to say that without that incident, the current situation wouldn't exist.

I instantly understood what to do, and then frowned and said, "So it was you who trampled on Lord Shafulin's dignity back then!"

At crucial moments, it's still Lord Shafulin who has to step in and take the blame!

In war, any underhanded tactics are acceptable as long as victory is achieved, giving one the right to make demands. However, in the negotiation phase, which aims to prolong the war, a more justifiable cause is crucial, placing oneself in a legitimate and reasonable position.

Although none of the three factions intended to let the others off the hook, once we won, we still needed to find a good excuse to send troops. The Mad Lord was a seasoned pro at this; he immediately seized on their recruitment of traitors and their secret plots to suppress their momentum.

And I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our principles for sending troops—although it was initially a shameless sneak attack, we now say that we are fighting for the great honor of the group! No arguments accepted!

The pirate leader glanced at the leader of Hiron in despair, but received no response. He could only grit his teeth and say, "You have won today, and we are willing to pay the price for peace... But remember, space pirates are never-ending! If you don't want to be devoured by more pirates, you'd better know your limits!"

I pointed my halberd at him. "The Shisong Manor incident is no longer just an internal matter of our territory; it also involves the reputation of the 'Ancient' Group. I said before that I would reserve the right to investigate this matter thoroughly, so I hope you can give me a satisfactory explanation!"

The mad lord, expressionless, spoke in a torturous voice, "I can tolerate defeat in battle and the loss of power, but I absolutely cannot tolerate betrayal! You will pay the price for your actions!"

As soon as he finished speaking, I noticed that the traitors, including Eaton and Fatty, shrank back instantly.

Well done, killing two birds with one stone! You've insulted two families at once!

I deliberately said, "That's right, in this wasteland, weakness is the original sin. You pirates have been driven back to your hometown by me, yet you still dare to come and negotiate. You are simply shameless!"

Hmph, I'm mocking you, you lunatic! I almost destroyed your home, and you still dare to pretend to be the victorious nation and swagger around. You're like Pigsy calling himself Daniel Wu—you've got no shame!

The cavalrymen of the loader's command instantly looked embarrassed and looked up at the sky, pretending to count the stars.

After a moment of silence, I finally issued my ultimatum.

"It is foolish to continue to suffer casualties... Everything that happened today is your own fault. This Sabre Bay will be taken over by me, Jack, and my men. From now on, there will be no more bases of the Godslayer Pirate Crew on the Riegomi Bush!"

I glanced at the base that was almost destroyed and thought that although it was in a terrible state, the infrastructure was still decent. As long as I could send people to guard the surrounding key routes, I could open another port trade zone outside the land free trade zone and expand the transportation channels.

In any case, even the loader commander wouldn't dare take this territory. Their army is clearly insufficient now; they're already stretched thin just defending one territory. If they had to rotate between two territories, the most likely outcome would be that they couldn't defend either.

But their needs also need to be taken into account...

"At the same time, all pirate prisoners in Sabre Bay will be handed over to the loader's leader for safekeeping. The looted goods will be split between me and him on a 30/70 basis. The airships in the harbor will belong to the Free Trade Zone!"

As soon as I finished speaking, the pirate leader's expression became extremely distorted, looking as if his face was twitching.

The purpose of this military operation is to eliminate the pirates' power, that much is certain. He can't be so naive as to think we're marching to his doorstep just to freeload a meal and leave, can he?

“I accept the previous conditions! But this spaceship belongs to the Hiron Mercenary Group, and I have no right to dispose of it.”

After saying that, he voluntarily put down his gun, but stopped the Reverse-Flash Legion from approaching the spaceship.

The pirate leader's answer surprised me greatly, and left all the pirates present dumbfounded!

The conditions I mentioned were clearly outrageous, and he agreed to them all without a word? He even agreed to take everyone prisoner? Had they already been bribed by the mad lord and were determined to join the Loader's Territory, this beacon of the wasteland?

If it were me, in this unfavorable situation but with a fighting chance, I would at least show some skill before accepting the terms, or at the very least fight another battle to demonstrate that I've done my best so I can give my superiors a satisfactory explanation...

Especially with a superior force like the Hiron Pirate Mercenary Group here, they're practically blatantly defying him. Isn't that going too far? Even if he manages to get back alive, aren't they afraid of being reported?

Looking at his imposing figure standing in front of the spaceship, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind, and I abruptly realized something.

At the same time, the mad lord also shouted the same sentence...

"All hands take cover! Watch out for enemy attack!"

Chapter 472 Hiron Mercenary Operations

The stern and wary look on the pirate leader's face, and the indifferent expression on the leader of Hiron's face, aroused my vigilance. It took me a moment to understand why he dared to say such things and do such strange things.

Under what circumstances would you lie openly to your superiors without any pressure? That would be when you have a written instruction in hand!

Under what circumstances would you casually agree to something at the negotiating table without feeling any pain? That's when you never intended to fulfill the contract in the first place!

Therefore, their current restraint and cooperation indicate that this guy and the Siron mercenary group are stalling for time!

After the alert order was issued, the surrounding troops immediately began to move.

The cavalry led by the loader decisively mounted their horses and began to scatter in all directions, relying on their horsepower to demonstrate their mobility, and quickly dispersed into small, scattered groups.

The 460 Legion, due to its slow movement speed, dispersed and hid in nearby buildings, leaning against the walls.

The remaining Reverse Lightning Legion forces were all gathered at the port. They had just assembled and evacuated under Eaton's orders, and they also had to prevent the unmoved pirates from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, so their speed was a little slow.

Therefore, only they noticed that a wisp of mist was emanating from the dilapidated spaceship docked in the harbor, causing ripples on the sea surface along the spaceship's starboard side.

"Sir, there's something strange about the spaceship!"

These strange ripples seemed to appear out of thin air; if it weren't for causing the ship to tilt slightly to the left, the anomaly in this area would be impossible to detect.

The leader of the strange men, Hiron, chuckled and suddenly raised his hand, ordering towards the distance: "Cancel camouflage and fire the plasma cannons at current output power!"

A colorful ripple suddenly flashed across the damaged spaceship docked in the harbor, before its colors finally blended into the dim night of the real world, revealing an anti-aircraft gun that was continuously charging its electric coils.

It is clear that this plasma cannon requires a long time to charge and aim, which is especially difficult when the spacecraft is obviously damaged.

If they were to openly attack us, our mobility would allow us to easily evade their assault. However, Hiron is secretly accumulating energy, so once it's unleashed, it will cause us a massive, unexpected disaster…

Clearly, this cannon, partially concealed by the machine's stealth, was secretly charging up and had already quietly aimed at our location.

This cannon is now pointed right at me!

I saw a hint of smugness in Chief Siron's eyes, but I had no time to care about what this man had done.

He wants to kill me first, so I have to make good use of this opportunity to draw away the attack and reduce the legion's losses.

"System notification: Wide-range attack detected. To ensure the safety of colonists, we are automatically entering evasion mode!"

Then, I dodged Shiron's longsword with a sidestep, used my steel halberd as a fulcrum, braced myself with the tail of the halberd, and quickly moved backward, plunging headlong into Shiron's army.

I refuse to believe they would dare to fire on their own people!

When I infiltrated their ranks, whether it was due to the previous fierce battle that left them short of ammunition, or because they were worried about accidentally injuring their teammates, they didn't bring out any firearms and simply fought me with oddly shaped longswords.

Seeing me suddenly approach, these white-robed Silron mercenaries reacted extremely quickly, instantly drawing their long swords from their waists and beginning to slash. Their movements were incredibly skillful, as if the instinct to dodge did not exist in them, and every movement they practiced was for the purpose of killing the enemy.

Soon, I witnessed firsthand how terrifying these Hiron mercenaries were. Even with the help of the Colonizer System, I couldn't easily evade their attacks; in fact, I found myself in constant peril.

A Silron mercenary lunged forward with his longsword held upside down, leaving a dazzling flash that grazed my nose as I dodged. In that instant, I struck him on the back with my palm, using the momentum to propel myself forward.

Because I could already see the direction from which I had fallen, and a Hiron mercenary was already handing me a blade, ready to pierce my brain at any moment.

Then another mercenary swung his knife in a flourish, viciously attacking my left leg as I exerted force, while another mercenary pounced on my right hand without warning!

If I try to dodge, I'll be slashed in the arm holding the halberd. But if I choose to alternate my attacks, they'll continue to strike my vital points until they drag me into a corner.

I now deeply regret not wearing full plate armor when I went out, considering flexibility.

With so many exposed parts, the pressure to hide was immense. If it weren't for the colonizer system's extremely accurate predictions, I would have been hacked to death by now!

Even as I changed direction repeatedly, their attacks never hesitated or stopped for a moment.

Faced with this situation, the colonist system had its own countermeasures. With a swift swing of its halberd, the blade slightly deflected, blocking the lightning-fast approaching sword. Then, with a backhand swing, it disarmed the other longsword. Finally, with a shove of the long pole, it pushed the approaching enemy away, thus averting the crisis.

Individually, they weren't particularly strong; in a tag-team battle, I could take them all down by myself. But after several exchanges, I discovered that the teamwork of these Hiron mercenaries was absolutely flawless.

When the Hiron mercenaries attack, one mercenary often draws fire while the others form an attack team, using optical camouflage to conceal themselves and exploit blind spots to relentlessly attack any openings.

Their murderous intent is lurking between deception and reality. If I confront the enemy in front of me head-on, the one behind me will not hesitate to strike without hesitation. If I choose to defend my back, the enemy in front of me will relentlessly charge in and end the battle with a cold blade.

Such attacks are too close together. When one side attacks, the other side will come to force back my counterattack and draw fire, so that even when I switch to counterattack mode, I cannot effectively kill the opponent - unless I risk being hit and trading blows.

And this was precisely their battle plan!

Unless someone can overwhelm their attack with absolute force, or observe the enemy from every angle and instantly devise a battle plan, and find a counterattack strategy while fighting the enemy like playing Go, it is impossible to escape from the encirclement.

However, their team wasn't just three; they could add more members at any time to attack together without affecting their coordination. In a short period of time, the number of enemies in front of me increased from three to four, five, six... until I felt like the whole world was filled with fleeting, venomous blades!

If the three heroes had had a tacit understanding in the battle against Lü Bu, they wouldn't have had to wait until after the White Gate Tower to see who was just a target to be sacrificed.

The more Hiron mercenaries participate in the joint attack, the more attacks I have to deal with, and the amount of computing power required increases from two threads to ten threads. The average person's brain would have been overwhelmed and would have been smoking long ago!

It's safe to say that encountering such a skilled team player when fighting alone is a nightmare!

As the melee continued, the plasma cannon in the distance rotated less and less, until it finally came to a standstill, emitting a dangerous blue light!

I had a bad feeling. The colonist system had also calculated the danger of being attacked. In an instant, it used its halberd to break two longswords and used the momentum to try to hide on the balcony of the building opposite.

With the shelling imminent, no one dared to linger, and a clearing instantly appeared in front of me. But two Hiron mercenaries stealthily approached from the crowd, their eyes gleaming with malice as they grabbed my legs and, simultaneously biting their long knives, ensnared me without warning, interrupting my attempts to jump and dodge!

In that instant, the blue-white plasma detached from the muzzle, flowing along the emission channel formed by the crystal lattice's convergence, transforming the plasma into a raging, blinding torrent that engulfed my location. The plasma itself reached temperatures of tens of millions of degrees, instantly vaporizing everything in its path and carving a horrifying chasm into the ground!

Chapter 473 Spider Web

A massive, ceaseless stream of energy shot out from the bow of the ship, carrying countless debris and obstacles as it surged forward, eventually disappearing into the distant horizon. Like a thunderclap, it illuminated the world and shook the hearts of everyone present.

Even the privateer cavalry, who charged far ahead with their powerful engines, could not escape the impact of this incredibly powerful plasma cannon, turning into charred corpses and incomplete remains scattered across the land.

After the terrifying commotion subsided, I stood up on another building. Half of the steel halberd had been melted and dissolved, and the entire halberd had been shortened into a twisted iron rod. The system data that was once clearly visible on the weapon had also disappeared.

It seems that the concept of this weapon has been eliminated, and it is now just an ordinary iron weapon.

The two grotesque corpses on my legs, severed along their chests, showed just how dangerous the situation had been.

Just now, two Silon mercenaries bravely stood in front of me, each grabbing one of my legs, trying to take me down with them.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the colonist system seemed to switch from evasion mode to counterattack mode. I reversed the halberd once, and the sharp blade instantly sliced ​​through the fragile creature, severing the flexible armor, and split the two Hiron mercenaries in two, without severing my own legs as well.

Even though they were already cut in two, and the long knife they were biting fell to the ground in pain, the two mercenaries, who were determined to die to cover the retreat, were spitting blood, and still tried to bite through my leg armor with their teeth.